MISSION and VISION
OUR MISSION:
Love God. Love Others. Reach Out.
OUR VISION
To Become a Transforming Community
WHAT WE BELIEVE
God
God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has
eternally existed in three personalities: the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.
Man
Man is made in the spiritual
image of God,
to be like Him in character. He is the supreme object of God's creation.
Although man has tremendous potential for good, he is marred by an
attitude of disobedience toward God called sin. This attitude
separates man from God.
Eternity
Man was created to exist
forever. He will either exist
eternally separated from God by sin or in union with God, through
forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell.
To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and Hell are
places of eternal existence.
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the
Father. Jesus lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the
perfect sacrifice for the sins of all men by dying on a cross. He arose
from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and
death. He ascended to Heaven's glory and will return again to earth to
reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Salvation
Salvation is a gift from God to man. Man can never make up
for his sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus
Christ as God's offer of forgiveness can man be saved from sin's
penalty. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into
his life by faith.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son as God. He
is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus
Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation.
He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of
spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. The Christian
seeks to live under His control daily.
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is manifested through a variety of spiritual
gifts to build and sanctify the Church, demonstrate the validity of the
resurrection and confirm the power of the gospel. The lists of these
gifts in the Bible are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may
occur in various combinations. All believers are commanded to earnestly
desire the manifestation of the gifts in their lives. These gifts always
operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in
violation of biblical parameters.
WHAT WE VALUE
Biblically-Centered
The Word of God is our ultimate authority. Mature
followers of Jesus Christ must know God’s Word and how to read,
interpret, and teach scripture. EBC prioritizes clear Biblical teaching
and emphasizes the great sense of urgency for the church to know
scripture and understand the truths of the Bible. The time one is in the
Scriptures directly impacts their relationship with God and the ability
to obey His commands.
Spiritually-Empowered
More than anything else, people need God Himself.
We all hunger for life in the Spirit. Without the Spirit’s influence in
our lives, no amount of Bible knowledge amounts to anything of eternal
value. At EBC we intentionally invite and anticipate God coming in power
allowing believers and unbelievers alike to experience His presence.
Prayer-Dependent
God’s vision for EBC will be fulfilled only if we
remain on our knees, recognizing that apart from the work of God and the
empowering of the Holy Spirit, nothing of lasting value will happen. We
can only accomplish much relying on God’s power and not our own.
Relationship-Oriented
We believe that God has created people and churches
to dwell in communities of mutual love and commitment with one another.
Our church community is intentional about relationship investment and
commitment, knowing that spiritual growth and healing happen best in a
relational context of love, care, trust and transparency.
We realize that everyone is on a different point in their journey
of faith so we accept people as they are. It is OK not to be OK .Each
person is important, unique and crafted by and for God.
Outreach-Targeted
All people are precious in the sight of God.
Through creative and intentional efforts, EBC seeks to build bridges to
people outside the church in an effort to extend the hope and love that
can be found only in relationship to God through Jesus Christ. We
recognize that much of the Scripture portrays God’s passion for the poor
and needy and endeavor to have our passions in line with His.
Transformationally-Focused
Following the example of Jesus and the New Testament model, we will advance the cause of Christ through the intentional training of disciples and church leaders. We recognize that transformation is a work of God’s Spirit from the inside out. The goal of transformation is to be imitators of Jesus, to live a life of servanthood and promote an ongoing cycle of discipleship.